


The Letter

by Antares



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Cover Art, Digital Art, Established Relationship, Kissing, M/M, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 02:13:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14534454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antares/pseuds/Antares
Summary: When John found the envelope on his desk in General Jack O’Neill’s typical handwriting he immediately knew what that meant.





	The Letter

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Der Brief](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14534520) by [Antares](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antares/pseuds/Antares). 



> 1) Many, many thanks to my beta reader Shazzz!  
> 2) mcsheplets challenge 278 ‘procrastination’  
> 3) background Jack/Daniel

When John found the envelope on his desk in General Jack O’Neill’s typical handwriting he immediately knew what that meant. This was finally, finally the answer to the impending question whether Atlantis would be allowed to return to the Pegasus Galaxy, or if the Earth bureaucrats had won and the amazing city would be dismantled on Earth like an old, worthless junk car.

John picked up the envelope, exhaling deeply, and turned it in his fingers. After nearly eight months spent on Earth he’d recognize O’Neill’s scribbling immediately. The General had left enough post-its on his computer, his desk, and even his coffee mug.

O’Neill, as the chief of Homeworld Security, was constantly commuting between the Pentagon and Atlantis, hoping to solve the Atlantis-problem as quickly as possible. That meant he was conferring with John frequently. From a Homeworld Security point of view, the floating city was a nightmare.

They had come up with some flimsy pseudo-scientific experiment of measuring and studying the local fauna to explain why this part of the ocean was off limits for every boat and ship, and under strict governmental control. But of course, restrictions made the curious even more curious. And so O’Neill had made it very clear to everyone that the sooner Atlantis was returned to where she belonged, the happier he would be – and that was exactly John’s sentiment.

John took another deep breath. Here in his hand it was the decision about Atlantis’ fate, and, by consequence, about his and Rodney’s future. Not to speak of the even more important verdict of whether Teyla and Ronon were condemned to spend the rest of their lives on an alien world. They never directly talked about it any longer, but John knew for sure that they wanted to return home.

John rummaged around in his desk drawer to search for a letter opener, snorting when he realized what he was doing. Since when did he need a paper knife when usually he simply tore open his envelopes very unceremonially?

Procrastination! He was stalling, that was what he was doing! Trying to gain a few more seconds of incertitude before he knew if the letter was announcing the end of their hopes. That’s what the famous cat in the box must have felt like. This made him think promptly of Rodney. He would call him, and they could open the letter together.

“Hey, Rodney. Do you have a moment?”

“Why?” The scientist sounded a bit absent-minded and then he heard Rodney yelling at somebody not to be dumber than the dumbest intern. “Sorry,” he said a few seconds later. “But these earth-scientists wouldn’t have survived a single day in the Pegasus galaxy.”

John refrained from mentioning that also Rodney and his team were strictly speaking all ‘earth-scientists’. With offworld experiences, yes, but nevertheless born on Earth. Instead he said, “I got a letter from General O’Neill.”

“Oh, my God! *The* letter? And what does it say?” Rodney’s voice was vibrating with ill suppressed tension.

“I…”

“What!?”

John regretted that he had his earpiece in and not a cell-phone that he could hold at arm’s length. “I haven’t it opened yet,” John confessed starting to feel a bit childish.

“Why not?” He could ‘hear’ Rodney shaking his head furiously.

“Hmm… because of… Erwin Schrödinger?” Now John felt really foolish. Since when was he so pathetic? He straightened, and even if Rodney couldn’t see him, perhaps he would detect in his voice that this sentimental moment was over. “Wait, I’ll let you know immediately.” He tore into the paper…

“No, no, no!” Rodney shouted. “Meet me on our park bench in the City Park. I want to be there when you read it.”

The ‘City Park’ had been installed shortly after the landing, within three days. It was astonishing what botanists were able to do with some rolled sod and trees in big pots. Now it was a favourite place of many of the Atlantean people because they couldn’t often leave the officially closed off area, and then by boat or helicopter. And it was John’s favorite place because he had kissed Rodney there for the first time after the scientist had broken up with Jennifer. It had been a very spontaneous kiss, but it made still John’s lips and neck tingle, he…

“In five minutes?” Rodney interrupted John’s pleasant trip down memory lane.

“Okay, I’ll meet you there.” While John was taking the transporter to the east pier he grinned. He wasn’t the only nervous wreck. Rodney was just as bad.

They arrived at the park bench nearly at the same time.

“So, that’s it,” Rodney said, indicating the letter in John’s hand with a tiny movement of his head.

“Yep.” John sat down and offered the letter to Rodney. “Do you want to open it?”

“Afraid?” Rodney teased, but his fingers were slightly shaking when he accepted the letter. He very deliberately opened the envelope and started reading. His eyes got bigger and bigger, and then suddenly he hid half of his face behind his hand.

“Oh, no.” John swallowed and suddenly felt like he was dying inside. The wonderful city would be cannibalized! Unless… his thoughts came flying from all directions at the same time. They already had ‘stolen’ the city once. Perhaps with O’Neill’s help they could do it a second time? John had never felt more like mutiny as in that moment. He could…

Rodney made a small hiccupping noise and his shoulders were shaking. John shifted closer. He put his hand on Rodney’s thigh. “Hey, everything will be fine. We’ll…”

Rodney looked up and interrupted him. “We’re both total idiots.” He was grinning from one ear to the other.

“Atlantis… returns… home?” John didn’t trust his voice.

Rodney shrugged his shoulders apologetically. “I’m sorry, I don’t know. But we have been very hasty in our assumptions. This letter isn’t about Atlantis at all. It’s a private invitation.”

“From General O’Neill?” Somehow this anticlimactic turn of events didn’t make John’s brain work faster.

Rodney pointed at the sender’s address with the general’s name. “Exactly, you moron.”

“And what does he want? Uhm… Is it already his sixtieth birthday?” John tried to pluck the letter from Rodney’s hand.

Rodney snatched it away, held it in the air, and laughed. “I bet O’Neill wouldn’t be amused of you assuming that he’s that old. No, it’s something… let’s say… incredible.”

“Rodney!” Rodney teasing him was usually something he loved, especially if it meant that the blowjob would go on and on until he felt like killing Rodney or proposing to him at the same time. And right now John leaned towards the first alternative if his friend didn’t tell him immediately why he was smiling like a lunatic.

Rodney relented by bringing his arm with the paper down. “Okay, okay. The general is inviting you to his wedding.” He handed John the letter. He added, stressing the last three words, “His wedding with a certain Doctor Daniel Jackson.” He looked very pointedly at John, “It’s an invitation for you and your SO.”

“A wedding?” John mumbled while he was skimming the few lines on the paper. “But DADT was only abolished a few weeks ago.” He nibbled on his lower lip. That meant that the general had been already for some time, perhaps even a long time, in a relationship with a man. His non-military scientist. John’s head was swimming with the possibilities that offered for him.

“Looks like someone was waiting very patiently – or impatiently – for that to happen.” Rodney nodded. “So, who’s the ‘Significant Other’ you’re going to take to that party?” He made a great effort to let it sound like a joke between friends.

John wasn’t misled. Obviously, Rodney’s thoughts had snatched on the same possibilities as his. The hide-and-seek they were playing could come to an end, if he dared to be the first openly gay military commander of an offworld base. Then it dawned on John that the offworld status of Atlantis was still unclear.

What counted was the here and now. Could he…? To hell, with a future that wasn’t written yet! If, no when, the city was going back to the Pegasus Galaxy he was the best man to accomplish that job. And that was true, whether they would like his relationship with Rodney or not.

For a second John was tempted to let Rodney taste a bit of his own medicine and make him wait for his answer. But then he didn’t feel like joking. “There’s only one person significant enough to accompany me to an event like this.” John smiled when he saw Rodney’s eyes light up with something that came very close to his admiration for a chocolate pudding or a destroyed Wraith dart.

And it was remembering that look of joy – and the incredible sweet and hot kiss that had followed – that brought John through the day when he was nearly freaking out over the prospect of revealing such an intimate part of him to all his friends and colleagues. Not to mention the people who didn’t like him or Rodney.

John alternated the whole afternoon between telling himself that there was no better opportunity to let people know about them, and the fear that O’Neill was only being politically correct and would never expect John to show up at his wedding with a man at his side. Especially not Rodney who came really close to violating the fraternization regs, even if here on Earth they didn’t really work together. There were no missions he was leading and Rodney following, if what Rodney did could be called following.

He was so distracted that at half past five Lorne threw his hands up and told John to go to his quarters because he really didn’t have the time to ask every question two or three times. John gave him a rueful smile and left.

On his way back to his quarters John made a short detour to the mess hall and collected some of Rodney’s favourite sandwiches and sweets. He added another pudding and a bottle of wine to the tray. At least food on Earth was maybe not better but at least richer in variety and more abundant than in the Pegasus Galaxy.

He was sitting on the sofa in front of the computer, waiting, and killing time with pointless online games when Rodney arrived.

“I am so going to feed Winterberg to the killer whales one day”, Rodney complained when he entered the room two hours later. He kicked off his shoes and shrugged out of his grey jacket. “That sad excuse for an engineer nearly fried the coffee maker while trying to make hot chocolate in it! Can you imagine that? Heating milk? Why does he think it’s called a coffee maker and not a chocolate maker?” Rodney slumped down beside John on the sofa. “What?” he grumbled, when John started grinning.

“I’m sure you exorcized his love for hot chocolate out of him.”

“You bet!” Rodney yawned and leaned against John’s side. “Mhmm, I see you brought food. Excellent idea.” He acknowledged the food on the coffee table, licking his lips and waving a paper in his hand.

John saw that it was an envelope and asked, much calmer than this morning, “Is that the letter we are waiting for?”

“What? This?” Rodney waved the letter back and forth. “No, unfortunately, it isn’t. It’s my invitation to the wedding. Not by the general, but Daniel sent it to me. And it’s … uhm … very interesting.” He gave the letter to John and picked something to eat.

It was written in Daniel’s neat handwriting and much more personal than the official invitation O’Neill had sent him. It was addressed to _‘Dear Rodney’_ , and John recalled that Rodney had formed some sort of strange friendship with the archaeologist after they’d been abducted by the rogue Pegasus-Asgard. Even if Rodney didn’t go so far as qualifying what Daniel was doing was ‘real’ science, he at least admitted that it sometimes came in very handy to have Daniel on Atlantis. Especially when he wanted to have something translated in the database that Rodney couldn’t decipher.

John concentrated on the letter. After all the official details about date, time and location, it said “ _…and don’t you dare to bring anyone else other than Sheppard to the wedding. No alibi busty blondes.”_ Wow. John swallowed rapidly. Obviously, bringing Rodney to the wedding would be no shock at all for the general.

John cleared his throat and watched Rodney very closely when he said, “Either Daniel is even more perceptive than I thought, or someone has… talked?”

“Perception is Daniel’s middle name,” Rodney answered promptly. When John lifted his eyebrows, he sighed and said, “Fine, I may have told Daniel how much I missed you, when you went to Washington with O’Neill for nearly ten days. You’re mad?” He stopped the last bite of his cake a few inches in front of his mouth and looked at John.

Was he mad? The second John asked himself that, he felt he was relieved, and some of the stress he had dealt with during the afternoon evaporated. O’Neill knew and there was no stuttering explanation with lots of ‘ums’ in his foreseeable future. “No.” John pressed his thigh firmly against Rodney’s. “Saves us a lot of explanations, doesn’t it?”

Rodney nodded. “It does.” He swallowed the cake, adding to the crumbs that had already fallen from his mouth on to his t-shirt, “Which proves again that I’m the genius in this relationship.” He held his straight face for about a second then he broke out in a broad, lopsided grin.

“You’re not a genius, you’re an indiscreet blabbermouth,” John complained laughingly, his fingers lingering on Rodney’s jaw, gliding higher over the thin lower lip. Before Rodney could defend himself, he took him in arms and pressed a kiss to Rodney’s lips.

Rodney’s hands pulled on John’s t-shirt to get it free, and he helped by pulling in his stomach. The next second he felt Rodney’s fingers on his skin. Rodney was slowly tracing intricate patterns – or Euler equations – on his back, gliding up his spine and returning slowly. A wave of relief and arousal was spreading through John. This felt absolutely right, and he decided he’d never feel insecure about his relationship with Rodney every again. He closed his eyes and savored the soft, massaging caresses while Rodney returned his kisses.

Rodney deepened the kiss and John parted his lips, tasting the last sweet crumbs in Rodney’s mouth. Instead of feeling repulsed, he relished the sweetness, entirely content because of the intimacy of it. He felt himself harden, and a noise somewhere between a happy sigh and a needy groan escaped his throat. His whole body ached for more, and he had to feel Rodney’s skin too.

“Bed?” John asked hopefully when Rodney let him go for a moment to open the zipper on his trousers.

Rodney’s fingers stilled momentarily, and it seemed Rodney’s brain was so befuddled that he had to think really hard about this question. Rodney nodded, gave him one last wet and dirty kiss and then got up. He hooked his fingers into the loops of John’s trousers and pulled him up until he was also standing. “Perfect idea.”

“I have my moments,” John laughed and wrapped his arm around Rodney’s shoulders, while he pressed little kisses to Rodney’s neck, pushing and pulling him into the direction of the bedroom.

They were so absorbed in what they were doing that neither of them heard the quiet ‘pling’ announcing a new SMS from the Stargate Center…

 

\-----------THE END---------

@Antares, April 2018

 


End file.
